Betting racket busted during Kotla match

Bets to the tune of Rs 1.35 crore had been accepted by the four persons, who have now been arrested

You can't predict anything in cricket till the last ball is bowled or the last wicket is taken. That's what makes the game so lucrative to punters. The crime branch of Delhi police busted a cricket betting syndicate from Budh Vihar area on Monday and arrested four persons who had received money from punters to the tune of Rs. 1.35 crore.

Different ball game: After the game is over, profit and losses are calculated by specifically generated software known as "Back 'N' Lay PRO". (Above) The Eng-India game. File pic

According to the police, they got a tip-off that bets were being placed on the England-India one day international (ODI) match that was played at Firozshah Kotla on October 17. This information was further developed by and even as the match was on, a raid was conducted in the house at Budh Vihar, and four people were apprehended.

"The accused were identified as Deepak Mukhija (39), Punit Madan (29), Parmod Jain (44) and Sunil Kumar (33). We recovered two laptops, a TV, 27 mobile phones, two data cards, two calculators and eight notebooks from their procession," said Ashok Chand, DCP (Crime and Railways).

He added that during police interrogation the accused disclosed that the rate of the odds between the two teams originate from outside India. On the basis of that, bets are accepted during the match. After the game is over, profit and losses are calculated by specifically generated software known as "Back 'N' Lay PRO". The rates of course keep fluct uating.

Tech-savvy"They watch the matches on TV while the laptops are used by them for data entry and management. The mobile phones are used for getting the rates of the odds on the match and for taking bets from the punters. The recording facility on the mobile phone is used for keeping records of the bets placed by the punters. One set of mobile phones are specifically used for receiving the rates of betting which fluctuates ball by ball," said Chand.

Wanna bet?Two people were arrested for allegedly running a betting racket on the Champions League T20 cricket matches at Moti Nagar in west Delhi earlier this month. The accused were identified as Pankaj Vij (38) and Ved Prakash (43). According to the police, the two had accepted bets worth Rs.5 lakh on the cricket match between Somerset and Warriors teams when they were arrested.